I tested the most common ways to cook spaghetti squash in the Epi Test Kitchen: roasted whole, roasted halves face-up, roasted halves face-down, roasted inverted in water, roasted sliced in rounds, and zapped in the microwave. After some trial and error, here's how I recommend cooking spaghetti squash:

The Trick to Cutting Spaghetti Squash

The first thing I learned as I started cooking all this squash is that spaghetti squash can be very hard and a little bit scary to cut in half. It's a tough-skinned beast.

So I tried poking one all over with a pairing knife and zapping it in the microwave for five minutes before trying to slice it, and this little bit of pre-cooking made it easier to slide a knife through.

And a note on doneness: I like it with a slight al dente bite—which makes substituting it in place of pasta so much more believable. But you can take yours a little bit further if you prefer.

The Failures

Roasting spaghetti squash whole took too long, roasting halves face-up made it too dry, and roasting it inverted in a bit of water made it too wet. Roasting it in sliced rounds is supposed to help yield longer strands, but I found the whole process overly fussy and complicated for not much noticeable difference.

The Fast Way

The microwave method was by far the fastest. One half of a squash inverted on a plate took about 10 minutes, or a total of 20 for two halves (you have to do one half at a time unless you're cooking a smaller squash or have a huge microwave). The result was totally fine, but I preferred the texture and flavor of the roasted version. If you're in a rush, though, this is a good option.

The Epi-Approved Way

The best, easiest, results came from slicing the squash in half, placing it cut side-down on a rimmed baking sheet, and roasting it in a 375°F oven until the interior is fork-tender. About 40 to 50 minutes, depending on the size of the squash.